Gold slid below $1,400 an ounce on Friday as the dollar rallied to a four-week high and investors squared positions at the end of the month and cashed in on a recent run-up ahead of a long U.S. holiday weekend.

Gold, which remained on track for a 5.6 percent monthly gain, briefly trimmed its decline in the afternoon as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was making a broad case for U.S. military action against Syria. But prices fell back to pre-speech level before he finished his televised address.

Kerry made a case for limited U.S. military action against Syria for its suspected use of chemical weapons, saying it could not go unpunished for such a "crime against humanity." But he said any U.S. action would be carefully tailored and would not in any way resemble the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Economic data will help determine price direction for the gold market next week, with market participants awaiting the critical monthly nonfarm payrolls data.

Traders will also keep an eye on the Middle East to see if tensions flare up over the situation in Syria.

December gold futures fell Friday, settling at $1,396.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 0.02% on the week and up 6.3% on the month. December silver fell Friday, settling at $23.513 an ounce, down 0.95% on the week, but up 19.5% on the month.

Gold traders are the most bullish in five months as mounting concern about military action in Syria drove prices toward bull market territory.

Twenty-three analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to rise next week, six were bearish and five neutral, the highest proportion of bulls since March 8. Hedge funds and other speculators have the biggest bet on higher prices in six months and holdings of metal in exchange-traded products expanded in the past two weeks, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Sales of gold coins by the U.S. Mint fell to the lowest in six years in August, retreating for the fourth straight month.

Sales reached 11,500 ounces, according to data on the mint’s website. That’s the lowest since July 2007 and down from 50,500 ounces last month and 39,000 a year earlier. Coin sales have dropped since April, when they surged to a 40-month high of 209,500 ounces as prices tumbled into a bear market.

About 11,600 ounces of gold were added to the eligible storage facility at HSBC, and 22,446 ounces were transferred from registered (deliverable) status to eligible storage. This is the activity which occurred on Thursday which was reported today.

The total ounces of registered deliverable gold have fallen to 702,488 ounces of gold bullion.

Gold fell $8.60 or 0.61% yesterday, closing at $1,407.10/oz. Silver fell $0.44 or 1.81%, closing at $23.85. Platinum fell $11.61 or 0.8% to $1,518.99/oz, while palladium was down $8.78 or 1.2% to $734.22/oz.

Gold is set for its second consecutive higher monthly close which is bullish from a momentum and technical perspective. Gold is nearly 5% higher for the month in dollars and euros, 2.5% in pounds and 12% in rupees after the rupee collapsed in August.

As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information

According to Bloomberg, whose calculations were based on Hong Kong customs data, net gold imports into China more than doubled in the first half of 2013 to 493 metric tons, up from roughly 239 tons over the same period in 2012.

The China Gold Association said gold consumption in China jumped 54 percent to 706.36 metric tons in the first six months of 2013.

The US is having a three day weekend because of the national holiday on Monday.

Let's see how the rest of the world muddles through in the markets without its guidance.

War drums are still beating for Syria, but with Britain standing aside there is a bit of a wobble.

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